Why would anyone even use leather armor?

[bosshawk]

Let me say that this is the first Fallout Game I have played. With that said, why would anyone use any leather armor after the initial stages of the game when you get things like cage armor and then the minuteman general's uniform?

[Guydodge]

to make the game more challanging is one reason i can think of.

[Chop]

Energy resistance? Less weight overall? Looks cool? Is cheap and easy to find? Better than nothing?

[Valkyrie]

Well, why would you use a pipe rifle when you can use a Gauss Rifle, instead? You upgrade to newer, better things later on. Give the Leather Armor to your settlers so that they can last a few more seconds during the next super mutant raid.

[Veya]

Because you still need armor for the initial stages of the game, you literally said the answer yourself.

Plus, Sturdy and Heavy Leather is actually pretty good, not as good as Heavy Combat, but some people may like the asthetic more.

[Delfino]

I tend to stick with light armor that can also provide decent utility and protection. If I can get through the game relatively easily on hard with leather armor then it keeps things interesting. I do wear a BoS chest item for the radiation protection, though.

I've worn leather type armor in the Souls games as well. Stealthy, agile, and still gives you just enough protection when you need it. Wearing larger armor tends to not be appealing to me. Almost too easy of an option. That is what's great about the game. You can play it however you want. You just have to be ready for the downside is all.

[Moose]

I use Miltary Fatigues upgraded with balistic weave, 110/110 resist and various leather/metal bits over the top of it depending on the bonuses, most of mine is 15% less damage from some mob type.
Ended up with 235/196 resists.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=576114730

[SpeedFreak1972]

why use armor if you can use power armor? also cage armor looks hideous.

[Gromov]

Shadowed Leather Armor looks very cool.

[Foxador]

Originally posted by bosshawk:

cage armor and then the minuteman general's uniform?

Why would you want to use the really crappy armors you listed with the S tag?

[Gromov]

Moose and a hat too?

[kill kevin]

I normally don't wear armor, just clothing with a few small pieces of light armor over it. Idk it looks cool

[Syd Khaos]

Energy resistance, weight, and noise generated on movement...this is why you wear leather.

Leather is the lightest weight armor in the game. Its is by a HUGE margine the best armor type for stealth/ranged builds...or any high agility build (where most of your damage mitigation is coming from 'dodging' as it were). With the right mods you can be a ghost shadow!

MODS is another reason...you can do ALOT more mods to leather armor than either of the 2 you mentioned in OP. Not to mention that leather armors can be worn over clothing, like your vault suit.

Since this is your first Fallout title you may not know this.....each armor type has 3 different 'weght' classes:
Normal
Sturdy
&
Heavy
Each better than the last! So even if your sticking with leather armor for a ninja-sniper build then you can upgrade from leather to sturdy leather..then to heavy leather.

Also, since this is your fisrt Fallout title, let me the first to say...
Welcome Home Wastelander =)

[Moose]

Originally posted by Gromov:

Moose and a hat too?

You cant modify the helm im using but I have a metal one that you can, its minimal resists modified and this one looks better to me.

[Veya]

To be fair, if you are going for Heavy Leather on a stealth build you might as well use Heavy Combat.

The weight is almost the same(43.6 on H Leather, 45.5 on H Combat), both can be Shadowed and Ultra-Lighted, and Heavy Combat even have almost the same Energy Resist, no reason to sacrifice so much physical Resist over a few points of Energy Resist.

[Syd Khaos]

Originally posted by Veya:

To be fair, if you are going for Heavy Leather on a stealth build you might as well use Heavy Combat.

The weight is almost the same(43.6 on H Leather, 45.5 on H Combat), both can be Shadowed and Ultra-Lighted, and Heavy Combat even have almost the same Energy Resist, no reason to sacrifice so much physical Resist over a few points of Energy Resist.

BUT the heavy combat armor makes ALOT more noise when ya move over the heavy leather...important for stealth builds.

Its not always about damage resist and numbers...there can be other factors to look at when deciding on gear ya...